You CAN gain weight eating healthy!
A common misconception I’ve heard lately is “oh I ate quite a lot but it’s healthy so it’s ok”. Even if the food you are eating is “healthy” if you overeat you can still gain weight. If you are looking to lose weight it’s calories in vs calories out.
I’m not saying it doesn't matter whether the food you are eating is healthy or not, of course it is.
If you are eating unhealthy/processed foods 99% of the time chances are you’re not going to feel great, you won’t be getting as much volume from the food so will probably feel more hungry, skin and hair won’t be as good, energy levels will be down. If you start thinking about what you are actually putting in your mouth and if it is going to benefit your body or not e.g. choice of crisps or a banana/piece of fruit? Crisps may taste nice and may be what you fancy, but what’s going to benefit your body more and actually provide your body with vitamins? The fruit.
On some “diets” you can eat as much rice and pasta as you like! Well these obviously have calories too and can be VERY easily overeaten, I know if I didn’t weigh mine out I’d definitely eat 1000 calories worth! So as much rice and pasta as you like doesn’t really make sense. Try weighing the dry weight out to the serving size, you'd be very surprised to see how many calories are in the serving size and how little it actually is.
Even eating too much fruit can make you gain weight. If you are eating OVER your daily calorie allowance in fruit, you will gain weight. If you are eating over your daily calorie allowance in chocolate you will gain weight. If you are eating over your daily calorie allowance in broccoli (although this would be very hard to do haha) you WILL gain weight.
Calories in vs calories out. Start being more mindful of what you are eating. Look at the labels of food to check calories. You would be surprised what is in some things.
See below for some examples
- Large skim milk latte from Starbucks: 170 cals, 25g carbs, 16g protein
1 medium sized banana: 100 cals, 23g carbs
1 tablespoon peanut butter (30g): 179 cals, 3.5g carbs, 14g fat, 9g protein
1 average slice of bread: 100 cals, 19g carbs, 1g fat, 4g protein
1 tablespoon Nutella: 80 calories, 10g carbs, 5g fat
50g dry weight rice: 178 cals, 39g carbs, 4g protein
100g chicken breast: 140 cals, 30g protein
Tesco chargrilled chicken pasta pot: 410 cals, 49g carbs, 17g protein, 16g fat
I also hear a lot that women should eat 2000 calories at least. This isn't true for most women, especially us short ones ;). It’s not uncommon to start someone on 1500-1600 cals depending on goals, current weight, history etc. These calories will not “ruin” your metabolism. What will ruin your metabolism is low calories for a long period with frequent binges and episodes of very high calories during this time. Be CONSISTENT with your goal and if you have a coach/personal trainer, follow the plan. Whats the point if you aren't following it and trusting them?
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